Once again, welcome aboard. I see from your profile that you reside in the 'wilderness'

Any chance you'd like to narrow that down at all? I'm a curious soul...

I'm also a Christian, one of only a few that post here, and probably the one who posts most regularly.

I'm an Australian. Try not to be over-awed.

Hey there, nice to meet a brother in the Lord. I live in the United States, in the pacific northwest. Australia hmm. I would love to visit there some day. I've always wanted to check out the great barrier reef. I have a friend in Australia who needs to be saved. A most stubborn man named Anthony. Could you send up some prayers for him?

So you're pulling double-duty here, eh? God bless you for your service on the front lines. I'm not sure how often I will post here yet. I'm on a few other sites, and in real life I have a few obligations in real life pulling on me as well. I'll see what I can do. The Lord told me there is strength in numbers.

I'm sure lots of people would like to discuss your beliefs and the videos but usually that kind of debate is held in threads away from the introductions one. If we get too involved in here the mods may gently nudge us to take it elsewhere on the forum.

Welcome to wwgha, burnish. And good luck to ya, things can get pretty hot and heavy around here once a new theist user joins the forum. It's not unlike a feeding frenzy. Hope to see ya around the boards, man.

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"I would believe only in a God that knows how to Dance." -Friedrich Nietzsche

I'm sure lots of people would like to discuss your beliefs and the videos but usually that kind of debate is held in threads away from the introductions one. If we get too involved in here the mods may gently nudge us to take it elsewhere on the forum.

Hello and thanks for the welcome, and the warning. I'm sure I'll get plenty of debate elsewhere so I'll save my strength

Welcome to wwgha, burnish. And good luck to ya, things can get pretty hot and heavy around here once a new theist user joins the forum. It's not unlike a feeding frenzy. Hope to see ya around the boards, man.

Hey there The Wannabe, and thanks. Does that mean that everyone will consider me their chum? Will see you around friend

Welcome to the forums, I am sure you'll get into some interesting discussions.

Quote

Have any advice for me as a newbie?

I have some.

The first would be to read the rules. They're not all your typical forums rules as we have rules for discussion. Generally it is considered important and fair that people stick to them.

Anything you say you will be held accountable for, so if you do break a rule, like say, if you shift a goal post, people will likely pick you up on it and they'll be able to easily find your original statements. Not saying that you will do this, but it's quite common, so I thought it worth mentioning.

Preaching. This is a big 'no'. I just watch the video you posted and I can understand where he's coming from, from the eyes of a Christian what you're doing is saving us, because you don't want us to suffer. I can appreciate that, conversely as an atheist who doesn't believe in the bible, I see that you're living a delusion and are wasting your life, you only have one life and it shouldn't be living in fear of going to hell or worshipping a non-existent God or even restricting yourself because of your faith. To me, breaking you free of that would be a kind act. However, there's a few things I understand, one of them is that if I were to 'preach' my atheism to you or to come from the angle that I'm 'saving' you, then there's a high chance you'll be turned off and it won't work. I accept that you don't think or feel the same way I do about it. I understand there's the prospect of being wrong, no matter how much I think I am right, I am human therefore I am susceptible to error, so I remain open minded and don't assume with great authority that I'm right, this means if somebody were to show me that I'm wrong, then I will change my mind. If I am right and you can be convinced, then I feel the best way is through science and reason. I can't just sit there and tell you there is no God, just as you can't sit there and tell me that there is one or sit there and tell me that bible is true and use the bible to back all those claims up.

So I think, coming back to the point here, you won't reach out to anybody if you've come here to preach or even come here with the attitude that you're coming to 'save' us. Because that says to us, "you're not willing to listen, you're not willing to accept the prospect that you might be wrong and that any discussion will be one-sided" and that's not how it works and of course, it's not really fair on anybody.

Intellectual honesty will go a long way. Even if people don't like what you're saying, don't ever try to deceive anybody or try to be intellectually dishonest, this ties with our rules of discussion, for example, shifting goal posts, stonewalling, making strawmen, dodging and refusing to provide back up to any claims where asked. If you don't know the answer to a question or you feel you can't provide what people are expecting. Be sure to state it, if you can't argue a point, it doesn't mean you've lost, it just means your argument isn't strong enough or you don't have the research for it. If it gets to that, be sure that you won't be able to convince people that your argument is valid and the reason they're not agreeing with you is not that they're blind to the truth (as people have claimed before) it's just you've not got enough to back your own claims to convince them otherwise. Yes, we're a tough bunch to crack and to be fair, so are you guys.

If you're ever overwhelmed, as there's a lot of people on this forum and many will offer lengthy replies, then say so, do your best to address everybody, but also understand we prefer quality over quantity, so lets say you only have 30 minutes to reply, it'd be better for you say, "I'm sorry I can't address all of your posts and I will try and get back to them, but there's so many" and then say, spend those 30 minutes on a well thought-out reply to one post, rather than short responses to many posts. Of course, if you're commonly overwhelmed, we do have 'The Shelter', which is much more relaxed.

I think the important thing to note is that this place, for theists and atheists alike, require people with thick skin who won't cave in under pressure. The reason I say this is that discussions can get pretty heated and in depth and people do try and scrutinise and sometimes even to a fine detail. This is the kind of discussion forum this is and it isn't for everybody. My advice would be, don't take anything personally, but if somebody does step out of line, report them, unfortunately, mods aren't omniscient and don't see everything that goes on.

There's a lot to bear in mind there, I know, but don't let it scare you and I hope it helps you. We're actually nice people, I hope that you do stick around and get into some interesting discussion and debate. People tend to get banned from here because they don't respect our rules and how this forum operates and you wouldn't believe how many people have failed to do so, but we do get people like magicmiles who do their best and are respected for it.

Also, we've got a 'chatter' section, feel free to join in for something more casual or even for some banter.

Welcome to the forums, I am sure you'll get into some interesting discussions.

Quote

Have any advice for me as a newbie?

I have some.

The first would be to read the rules. They're not all your typical forums rules as we have rules for discussion. Generally it is considered important and fair that people stick to them.

Anything you say you will be held accountable for, so if you do break a rule, like say, if you shift a goal post, people will likely pick you up on it and they'll be able to easily find your original statements. Not saying that you will do this, but it's quite common, so I thought it worth mentioning.

Preaching. This is a big 'no'. I just watch the video you posted and I can understand where he's coming from, from the eyes of a Christian what you're doing is saving us, because you don't want us to suffer. I can appreciate that, conversely as an atheist who doesn't believe in the bible, I see that you're living a delusion and are wasting your life, you only have one life and it shouldn't be living in fear of going to hell or worshipping a non-existent God or even restricting yourself because of your faith. To me, breaking you free of that would be a kind act. However, there's a few things I understand, one of them is that if I were to 'preach' my atheism to you or to come from the angle that I'm 'saving' you, then there's a high chance you'll be turned off and it won't work. I accept that you don't think or feel the same way I do about it. I understand there's the prospect of being wrong, no matter how much I think I am right, I am human therefore I am susceptible to error, so I remain open minded and don't assume with great authority that I'm right, this means if somebody were to show me that I'm wrong, then I will change my mind. If I am right and you can be convinced, then I feel the best way is through science and reason. I can't just sit there and tell you there is no God, just as you can't sit there and tell me that there is one or sit there and tell me that bible is true and use the bible to back all those claims up.

So I think, coming back to the point here, you won't reach out to anybody if you've come here to preach or even come here with the attitude that you're coming to 'save' us. Because that says to us, "you're not willing to listen, you're not willing to accept the prospect that you might be wrong and that any discussion will be one-sided" and that's not how it works and of course, it's not really fair on anybody.

Intellectual honesty will go a long way. Even if people don't like what you're saying, don't ever try to deceive anybody or try to be intellectually dishonest, this ties with our rules of discussion, for example, shifting goal posts, stonewalling, making strawmen, dodging and refusing to provide back up to any claims where asked. If you don't know the answer to a question or you feel you can't provide what people are expecting. Be sure to state it, if you can't argue a point, it doesn't mean you've lost, it just means your argument isn't strong enough or you don't have the research for it. If it gets to that, be sure that you won't be able to convince people that your argument is valid and the reason they're not agreeing with you is not that they're blind to the truth (as people have claimed before) it's just you've not got enough to back your own claims to convince them otherwise. Yes, we're a tough bunch to crack and to be fair, so are you guys.

If you're ever overwhelmed, as there's a lot of people on this forum and many will offer lengthy replies, then say so, do your best to address everybody, but also understand we prefer quality over quantity, so lets say you only have 30 minutes to reply, it'd be better for you say, "I'm sorry I can't address all of your posts and I will try and get back to them, but there's so many" and then say, spend those 30 minutes on a well thought-out reply to one post, rather than short responses to many posts. Of course, if you're commonly overwhelmed, we do have 'The Shelter', which is much more relaxed.

I think the important thing to note is that this place, for theists and atheists alike, require people with thick skin who won't cave in under pressure. The reason I say this is that discussions can get pretty heated and in depth and people do try and scrutinise and sometimes even to a fine detail. This is the kind of discussion forum this is and it isn't for everybody. My advice would be, don't take anything personally, but if somebody does step out of line, report them, unfortunately, mods aren't omniscient and don't see everything that goes on.

There's a lot to bear in mind there, I know, but don't let it scare you and I hope it helps you. We're actually nice people, I hope that you do stick around and get into some interesting discussion and debate. People tend to get banned from here because they don't respect our rules and how this forum operates and you wouldn't believe how many people have failed to do so, but we do get people like magicmiles who do their best and are respected for it.

Also, we've got a 'chatter' section, feel free to join in for something more casual or even for some banter.

Thank you very much for all of the advice, and for the insight into where you're coming from. It's very much appreciated. I will reply at length when I come back later..I'm up far too late as it is. Talk to you then, and nice meeting you

No trouble. I feel I should also add, maybe it's a redundancy, but we do get it, try not to make assumptions. Even in this forum the atheists are varied, be it in opinion, attitude or perspective. There's actually a lot of misinformation around on atheism and things associated with atheism. You're welcome to ask questions and if there's anything you might have been misinformed on, we can inform you. Also, if anybody misunderstands anything you say, don't be afraid to correct them on it or if it requires a separate discussion altogether, don't be afraid to challenge them in a separate discussion (probably in a new thread). Most people here are ex-Christians, but obviously their knowledge doesn't extend to the entirety of all ~38,000 sects.

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“It is difficult to understand the universe if you only study one planet” - Miyamoto MusashiWarning: I occassionally forget to proofread my posts to spot typos or to spot poor editing.

No trouble. I feel I should also add, maybe it's a redundancy, but we do get it, try not to make assumptions. Even in this forum the atheists are varied, be it in opinion, attitude or perspective. There's actually a lot of misinformation around on atheism and things associated with atheism. You're welcome to ask questions and if there's anything you might have been misinformed on, we can inform you. Also, if anybody misunderstands anything you say, don't be afraid to correct them on it or if it requires a separate discussion altogether, don't be afraid to challenge them in a separate discussion (probably in a new thread). Most people here are ex-Christians, but obviously their knowledge doesn't extend to the entirety of all ~38,000 sects.

Thank you for the advice. I will try to make as few assumptions as possible, as I realize everyone is unique and I do not know their hearts. I think the net is condusive to being easily misunderstood, so I hope that others will give me that same allowance. I am interested in a positive discourse without acimony, and I am not here to point the finger at anyone (in truth I would also have to point it at myself). I will speak the truth as I understand it, and if that happens to offend anyone, I apologize but it is not my personal intention to offend anyone. This is not to say that I am ashamed for saying it, on the contrary, I am happy to say it. I understand though that the gospel is a scandal, but it was designed to be that way. It is supposed to shock your sensibilities and knock you out of your comfort zone. In any case, I realize this isn't the best place for that discussion.

I understand what you were saying earlier about preaching. I do not expect that atheists would put much credence in what scripture says. In fact, if I may quote a scripture, it is written that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who do not believe. I am here to speak to candidly about my faith. What will flow from that I do not know. I only hope that I can be of help to someone in here in understanding something they did not understand before, if not to make new friends. I actually have a few atheist/agnostic friends, and family members. I myself was previously an agnostic, so I feel I can relate to many of the viewpoints expressed here. I used to hold some of them myself.

I value intellectual honesty, because I have a high standard for truth. It's not something I would compromise for the sake of my beliefs, to justify them to myself or to others. There are many things I do not know, and do not understand, and if I don't know, I will say so. I also am pleased to inform you that my skin is very thick and I can handle a toe to toe debate. I am not easily offended, mainly because after being on the internet for 17 years, you learn the art of handling an insult gracefully. At least, you should have it down by that time.

I thank you for your welcome, and I appreciate your candor. Please feel free to tell me, publically or in private, if you feel I am messing up. I promise I will take your comments under consideration.